imagery in macbeth essay

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To help you look at any scene in Macbeth and interrogate it, it’s important to ask questions about how it's written and why.

Shakespeare’s plays are driven by their characters and every choice that’s made about words, structure and rhythm tells you something about the person, their relationships or their mood in that moment. You should always try and ask yourself, like actors do, why is the character saying what they are saying or doing what they are doing? What is their motive?

Just like Detectives, we need to look for clues to help us answer those questions each time and below you can find some interrogation techniques we use to analyse text, introduced by the actors that use them. 

Analysing Macbeth’s Language

Macbeth has several soliloquies and each of them reveals a lot about his state of mind, his ambitions and fears. In this video, Paapa Essiedu shares some of the things he looks for to help him understand how a character is feeling when he first looks at a soliloquy. The example he is using is from Hamlet, but you can look for the same clues in Macbeth’s soliloquies.

What can you find by looking at the same things in Macbeth?

Shakespeare gives characters soliloquies for lots of different reasons, but characters are usually open and honest with the audience in these speeches. Read Macbeth’s soliloquy from Act 2 Scene 1 aloud and see if you can notice the things Paapa tells us to look out for:

• Punctuation
• Line endings

Questions to consider

What can we learn about Macbeth from this soliloquy? Ask yourself:

• Do the sounds give you a sense of his emotion or lack of it? Which ones stand out? Are there lines or parts of the speech that stand out because of how they sound?
• There are several rhyming couplets. Where do they occur? Why do you think these words rhyme?

If you are able to read along, you will also notice the punctuation and where each line ends. This soliloquy is written in verse, like a poem. Ask yourself:

• How many sentences are there in the soliloquy? Is this more or fewer than you expected and how many of them are punctuated with question marks? Are the sentences a similar length, or are some longer? What do you think this tells us about the way Macbeth is feeling?
• If you wrote down all the words at the end of each line, what would you think the soliloquy was about? Does that feel right?

Using Paapa’s strategies we’ve started to look at what the language Macbeth uses tells us about him in this Act 2 Scene 1 soliloquy. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this speech reveals about the character at this point in the play.

Evidence Select an option

Explanation

Explanation Click text to edit

Evidence Click text to edit

Point Click text to edit

What else can I do to explore Macbeth’s language?

• Try looking for these same things in all of Macbeth’s soliloquies, noting any changes in his language and behaviour. A soliloquy shows you a character’s true thoughts and a lot can be learnt about Macbeth from looking at these moments of truth. How tempted is he by the prospect of becoming king at the beginning and what influences him along the way?
• Take a look at the things he says immediately before and after his soliloquies. Shakespeare often creates these comparisons to show you something.
• Keep a record of the imagery Macbeth uses. Macbeth uses lots of imagery about appearance and disguise and you can find out more about this in the Analysing the Imagery section. Think about why this might be connected to his fears and ambitions.

Analysing Lady Macbeth’s Language

We first meet Lady Macbeth on her own, delivering a speech about the news she has just received from her husband of the witches’ prophecies and Duncan’s visit. In this video, actor Mark Quartley shares some of the things he looks for to help him understand how a character is feeling when he first looks at a monologue. The example he is using is from The Tempest, but you can look for the same clues in Lady Macbeth’s language.

A monologue is when one actor delivers a speech as part of a scene. It is built up of lots of different thoughts. It can be spoken to another character, or it can be spoken alone, when it is also called a soliloquy. Read Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy from Act 1 Scene 5. As you read, see if you can notice the things Mark tells us to look out for:

• Word choice

What can we learn about Lady Macbeth from this speech? Ask yourself:

• Can you make a list of the key images? If possible, try writing these out and grouping them together into topics? Is there a stronger theme of supernatural words or of violence? The ‘raven’ that Lady Macbeth refers to was often seen as an omen of death, or a witch’s familiar. Lady Macbeth makes a cruel joke about how the bird will have a sore throat from crying out so many times that Duncan will die. How does this connect with her other uses of imagery?
• How do the words sound and does this give a sense of a spell being cast? Look out for alliteration, repetition and sibilance .
• Think about where the character is breathing and pausing; how does this make her come across? Where do the full stops fall within the lines?
• Look at the last word of each line. How many of those are words that you included in the lists of imagery you made?
• Pick out the verbs from the text. Like Mark, can you physicalise each of these? Does this make Lady Macbeth feel more powerful or less so? How do her word choices make her sound? Is she indecisive or confident?

Using Mark’s strategies, we’ve started to look at what the language Lady Macbeth uses tells us about her in this Act 1 Scene 5 soliloquy. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this speech reveals about the character at this point in the play.

What else can I do to explore Lady Macbeth’s language?

• This is the only moment we see Lady Macbeth alone. How does her language in this scene compare with how she speaks to her husband? How does she differ when speaking to King Duncan or the other thanes? Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to use a 'false face' with others to hide his intentions. How successful is she in doing this herself?
• Lady Macbeth’s mental health rapidly declines in the second half of the play, although we do not see her descent into madness as she is offstage. How does her language change when we see her in Act 5? Where she speaks in verse consistently in the first part of the play, she now speaks in prose. What does this tell us about her?
• Compare Lady Macbeth’s language with that of Hecate in Act 3 Scene 5. What are the similarities and differences? How connected is Lady Macbeth to the language of witchcraft?

Analysing the Imagery

As with all Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of types of imagery used in Macbeth. It’s a great idea to keep a list of key quotes and examples of these types of imagery in each act and who uses them as you explore the play.

Here are three types of imagery that come up a lot in Macbeth and are useful to look out for:

Disguise Imagery

• Duncan first mentions the idea of false appearances when talking to Malcolm about Cawdor. He says that there’s ‘no art / To find the mind’s construction in the face’ (Duncan, 1:4). When Lady Macbeth and Macbeth begin to plan Duncan’s murder, they decide to hide their intents through ‘false face’. Macbeth’s face is said to be like ‘a book’ and he needs to ‘look like th’innocent flower’ (Lady Macbeth, 1:5). This imagery is also used when Lady Macbeth and Macbeth disguise their deeds by getting into their nightclothes after Duncan’s murder, and when Malcolm’s army disguise themselves with tree branches.
• How many examples of disguise imagery can you find in the play and what do they reveal about the characters who use them? Is disguise always presented as a negative?

Religious Imagery

• Fear of heaven and hell is hugely important for all the characters in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth calls on ‘murd’ring ministers’ (Lady Macbeth, 1:5) from hell to help with her plans. Macbeth fears that if he kills Duncan all of ‘heaven’s cherubim’ will be horrified and when he goes to murder the king he says the act will lead Duncan to ‘heaven or to hell’ (Macbeth, 2:1). By the end of the play, hellish imagery is used to describe the ‘hell-hound’ Macbeth and the ‘fiend-like’ Lady Macbeth.
• How many examples of religious imagery can you find in the play? Is there more associated with hell or heaven? Are certain characters associated with one rather than the other?

Disease Imagery

• Lady Macbeth uses lots of disease imagery when talking about Macbeth’s lack of courage. She fears he is without the ‘illness’ to murder Duncan in Act 1 Scene 5, calls him ‘green and pale’ (Lady Macbeth, 1:7) and ‘infirm of purpose’ (Lady Macbeth, 2:2). As the Macbeths become more riddled with guilt, his mind is ‘full of scorpions’ and the doctor cannot treat Lady Macbeth’s ‘mind diseased’. Under the tyranny of Macbeth’s reign, Scotland becomes diseased too. Later in the play, the thanes come as ‘med’cine of the sickly weal’ (Caithness, 5:2) of the kingdom.
• Take a closer look at the extract from Act 2 Scene 4. What does this imagery tell us about the state of the country? Do you think these events have really happened?

Thinking about Act 2 Scene 4, we’ve started to look at what the disease imagery and word choices in the scene tell us about the state of Scotland. This scene between Ross and the Old Man uses images of a diseased and distorted nature to convey the chaos of the kingdom after Macbeth takes the throne. In the 2018 production the Old Man's lines are delivered by the Porter. What effect do you think this would have?

See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this language shows at this point in the play.

What else can I do to explore the imagery of disease?

• Look at Act 4 Scene 3. How do Macduff and Malcolm talk about Scotland? Notice how they personify the land as a wounded woman. Why do you think the men, and later the other thanes, talk about their country in this way?
• Lady Macbeth suffers greatly in Act 5 and is tended to by her waiting-woman and a doctor. The doctor tells Macbeth that there is no medicine that can help her. Look at Macbeth’s response in Act 5 Scene 3. What is his attitude to medicine? Consider where medicine and cures are mentioned at other points.

Analysing the Themes

As with all Shakespeare’s plays, there are lots of themes that appear in Macbeth. It’s a great idea to keep a list of key quotes and examples of these themes in each act as you go through the play, looking at where they come up.

Here are three themes to look out for:

Theme of Ambition

• Macbeth is set in a hierarchical world in which loyalty and service to the king is rewarded with titles and land. When Macbeth is successful in battle, King Duncan rewards him with the title ‘Thane of Cawdor’ because he is ‘worthy’. All of the characters have hopes for their own futures and the future of Scotland; however, ambition that oversteps the moral boundaries is condemned and punished. In the opening scene, we hear about ‘merciless’ rebels who have attempted to seize power and are overthrown and executed.
• Consider each character’s ambition for the future of their family, country and self. Are there any characters without ambition? Look at how characters talk about ambition in Act 1. What do you think the rules are surrounding ambition? When does it become an evil act to pursue your ambition?

Theme of Supernatural

• The very first thing we learn at the opening of the play is that there is a supernatural force, which is first seen in the form of the three witches. They appear in ‘thunder and lightning’ and plot to meet with Macbeth, before calling to their supernatural familiars and casting a strange spell. Both Macbeth and Banquo believe in the witches' magic and power. This is a world where magic is a real presence, although it is associated with the devil. In Act 1 Lady Macbeth calls on ‘spirits’ and ‘murd’ring ministers’ to help her achieve her aims; in Act 2 Macbeth sees a ghostly dagger on his way to murder Duncan; and in Act 3 he sees a terrifying apparition of his murdered friend Banquo. After Macbeth’s last visit to the witches in Act 4 Scene 1, the supernatural presences disappear, although their influence remains.
• Think about why the characters in this play are so ready to believe in spells, witchcraft and ghosts. Look at the language they use when they talk about the supernatural. How does it compare to how they talk about religion in the play? Compare this with how Macduff speaks about magic. Why do you think he views the supernatural in a different way?

Theme of Fate

• The witches make several prophecies and they all appear to come true. In Act 1, the first prophecy is realised almost immediately when Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor; this is proof for both men of the witches’ power and Banquo remarks ‘What, can the devil speak true?’ (Banquo, 1:3). However, as soon as Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy, she wants to speed up what has been ‘promised’. When Macbeth commits murder to achieve the crown, it becomes ambiguous whether his fate is predestined or if he has been influenced to make choices out of his own free will. Macbeth also tries to cheat fate by sending murderers after Banquo and Fleance in order to avoid the witches’ prophecy about them coming true.
• Look at the prophecies that the three witches make and the moments when they come true. Do you believe in their magic, or could there be another explanation? Are there any that you cannot explain? Do you think the prophecies would have come true without Macbeth’s intervention? Do you think the prophecy about Banquo's sons will come true?

Read Act 1 Scene 7 looking for any references to Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's ambition. See if you can complete the grid and finish four points which explain what this language shows about ambition at this point in the play.

What else can I do to explore the theme of ambition?

• Look at the section on Lady Macbeth’s language, which explores the ‘unsex me here’ soliloquy where Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to rid her of her female qualities and achieve her ambitions. Does she use language that is similar to the men’s? How do you think she defines ambition and courage?
• Compare this scene with Act 4 Scene 3 in which Macduff and Malcolm talk about their ambitions for Scotland’s future. Consider how they talk about the country as a whole, whereas the Macbeths talk solely about their individual hopes for success.

Teacher Notes

The following sheet provides further information on themes in the text.

Macbeth Themes

You can also print the PEE grids from each of the sections on this page to help students explore the language of central characters and some of the imagery used in more detail.

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by William Shakespeare

Macbeth imagery.

Throughout Macbeth , characters make frequent reference to clothes and clothing, as related to one's station or occupation. Often, these remarks usually concern clothing that is ill-fitting or simply "wrong" for someone to be wearing. The clothing imagery that appears in the play therefore underscores the eerie sense in the play that something is amiss, or that someone is wrongfully "impersonating" somebody else – such as, of course, Macbeth becoming king only after secretly murdering Duncan.

Like most Shakespearean tragedies, blood plays a central role as an image in Macbeth . Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience anxiety as they attempt to wash blood from their hands, blood which is likely already gone but which they perceive as lingering because of their crippling guilt. In the play, blood signifies violence, of course, but also the shame associated with perpetrating such violence – which both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth struggle to conceal.

Sleep, or lack thereof, also plays an important role in developing the dramatic imagery of the play. Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep, an action that catalyzes Macbeth's own restless sleep for the remainder of the play. While sleep signifies peace and tranquility, the number of sleepless nights that occur in the play suggest the paranoid and guilt-ridden conscience with which Macbeth grapples.

Multiple characters make reference to children throughout Macbeth , but none so famously as Lady Macbeth, who recounts having nursed an infant while also stating that she would have murdered her child for power. This disturbing imagery helps paint a portrait of Lady Macbeth as a more complex character while also defying the conventions of how women, specifically noblewoman, should behave. Furthermore, the repeated imagery of babies, children, and sons throughout the play emphasizes Macbeth's preoccupation with succession, as only first-born sons could inherit the throne and he and Lady Macbeth have no children.

Macbeth Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Macbeth is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Of what importance are the bleeding Sergeant and Ross? Why does Shakespeare introduce two messengers?

There are two pieces of information here, hence the two messengers. The bleeding sergeant is meant to inform Duncan, and the audience, of Macbeth's valor in battle. Ross is meant to inform about the Thane of Cawdor being a traitor. Both pieces of...

The third which says that Banquo's sons shall be kings, Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3 questions

What is significant about the first words that Macbeth speaks in the play?

A motif or recurring idea in the play is equivocation. There is the balance of the dark and the light, the good and the bad. Macbeth's first line reflects this. It...

Study Guide for Macbeth

Macbeth study guide contains a biography of William Shakespeare, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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Essays for Macbeth

Macbeth essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

• Serpentine Imagery in Shakespeare's Macbeth
• Macbeth's Evolution
• Jumping the Life to Come
• Deceptive Appearances in Macbeth
• Unity in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Lesson Plan for Macbeth

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E-Text of Macbeth

Macbeth e-text contains the full text of Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

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Wikipedia Entries for Macbeth

• Introduction

Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — The Use of Imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Analysis of Shakespeare's Use of Imagery in Macbeth

• Categories: Macbeth Macbeth Guilt

About this sample

Words: 463 |

Published: Nov 22, 2018

Words: 463 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Macbeth imagery (essay), the use of imagery in shakespeare's macbeth.

• Roychoudhury, Suparna. “Melancholy, Ecstasy, Phantasma: The Pathologies of Macbeth.” Modern Philology 111, no. 2 (2013): 205–30. (https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/673309?journalCode=mp)
• Ghanooni, A. R. (2014). A cross-cultural study of metaphoric imagery in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Translation and Interpreting Studies. The Journal of the American Translation and Interpreting Studies Association, 9(2), 239-256. (https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/tis.9.2.05gha)
• Muir, K. (2015). Image and symbol in Macbeth. In Macbeth (pp. 337-351). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315709277-21/image-symbol-macbeth-kenneth-muir)
• Hughes, H. Y. (1959). THE UNITY OF'MACBETH': A STUDY OF THEMATIC IMAGERY. University of Arkansas. (https://www.proquest.com/openview/26fe98baebf38f83d77e23da1d9b4883/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y)
• Thompson, A., & Thompson, J. O. (1991). Sight Unseen: Problems with ‘Imagery’in Macbeth. Towards A Definition of Topos: Approaches to Analogical Reasoning, 45-65. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-11502-0_3)

Should follow an “upside down” triangle format, meaning, the writer should start off broad and introduce the text and author or topic being discussed, and then get more specific to the thesis statement.

Provides a foundational overview, outlining the historical context and introducing key information that will be further explored in the essay, setting the stage for the argument to follow.

Cornerstone of the essay, presenting the central argument that will be elaborated upon and supported with evidence and analysis throughout the rest of the paper.

The topic sentence serves as the main point or focus of a paragraph in an essay, summarizing the key idea that will be discussed in that paragraph.

The body of each paragraph builds an argument in support of the topic sentence, citing information from sources as evidence.

After each piece of evidence is provided, the author should explain HOW and WHY the evidence supports the claim.

Should follow a right side up triangle format, meaning, specifics should be mentioned first such as restating the thesis, and then get more broad about the topic at hand. Lastly, leave the reader with something to think about and ponder once they are done reading.

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In medieval times, it was believed that the health of a country was directly related to the goodness and moral legitimacy of its king. If the King was good and just, then the nation would have good harvests and good weather. If there was political order, then there would be natural order. Macbeth shows this connection between the political and natural world: when Macbeth disrupts the social and political order by murdering Duncan and usurping the throne, nature goes haywire. Incredible storms rage, the earth tremors, animals go insane and eat each other. The unnatural events of the physical world emphasize the horror of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's acts, and mirrors the warping of their souls by ambition.

Also note the way that different characters talk about nature in the play. Duncan and Malcolm use nature metaphors when they speak of kingship—they see themselves as gardeners and want to make their realm grow and flower. In contrast, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth either try to hide from nature (wishing the stars would disappear) or to use nature to hide their cruel designs (being the serpent hiding beneath the innocent flower). The implication is that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, once they've given themselves to the extreme selfishness of ambition, have themselves become unnatural.

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Notes on Symbolism & Imagery in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Back to: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Whenever blood is evoked in the play as a symbol, it tells us of the guilt. The series of events which starts unfolding after the murder of Duncan is full of blood. Macbeth taking a leap of imagination compares his guilt’s intensity to such an extent that he says even Neptune’s ocean can’t wash away the blood from his hand.

Shakespeare uses the convention of light and darkness to symbolise good and evil respectively. The three witches in a prophetic manner say that they’ll meet again with “ the set of sun ” and soon we see that the murder of Duncan happens.

It symbolises her flickering hope against the evil she has evoked beyond her control. Every time something evil is done, there comes a hint of light being blown out such as the murder of Duncan and presumed suicide of Lady Macbeth.

When Macbeth murders Duncan, his conscience is haunted at the very moment. Sleep symbolises clear conscience which keeps one peaceful. In the play, Shakespeare also equates sleep with death. Sleep symbolises renewal when Macbeth says that sleep is “ the death of each day’s life, ” and “ great nature’s second course. ” 

In a series of bloody imageries, the vision of dagger comes to Macbeth which shows his free-floating guilt. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use the imagery of water whenever they try to think of the possibility of purifying them of their evil crimes. 

The supernatural presence of the three witches is symbolised by the climate in which they appear, the kind of weather which creates a very sombre and fearful feeling. Across the play, such symbols and imagery create the overall tone which is tragic and forbidding.